The launch of a trial femtocell service by Australian operator Optus prompted mixed responses, with analyst firm Telsyte arguing that the move is “really passing the buck, making the consumer pay to get a better reception in the home.” Optus is offering the 3G Home Zone product for between AUD60 (US$63) and AUD240, depending on the customer’s mobile tariff and whether part of the cost is added to the monthly bill.  Connecting to the subscriber’s fixed broadband connection in the home, it is designed to improve in-building coverage, with Optus arguing that this will lead to customers abandoning their fixed-line voice connection. The pilot is taking place in selected areas of Brisbane, Central Coast, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Sydney and Wollongong, with “selected Optus customers” participating.

Telstra, Optus’ main rival in the Australian market, has previously expressed doubts about the benefits of these consumer-installed femtocells, with Hugh Bradlow, its CTO, noting that: “laptops and tablets generate by far the highest data load per device and most of these devices are already offloading onto WiFi.” Computerworld Australia also said that Telsyte had noted that “there’s other networks in Australia that don’t seem to have the need for femtocells.” The economics of femtocells for customers have also been questioned. As well as having to pay for the device, iTWire reports that the Optus femtocell uses 1GB of data per month before any calls or data sessions, with this usage coming out of a customer’s monthly fixed broadband allowance – even if they are an Optus fixed-line subscriber. In addition, mobile calls and data use is billed and metered as normal when using the 3G Home Zone, with the report noting that “there is an element of ‘double dipping’ where an Optus fixed broadband connection is used.”